Improvement in car-couplings



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARTMAN LUTHER, OF GALENA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT TO R. I. EDWARDS, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-COUPLINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 158,100, dated December 22, 1874; application led November 21, 1874.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARTMAN LUTHER, of Galena, in the county of Jo Daviess and in the State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Coupling; and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of this specification.

The nature of my invention consists iu the construction and arrangement of a car-coupling, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, referring to the annexed drawing, in which- Figure I is a side elevation of my car-coupling. Fig. 2 is a plan view of one'ot' the drawheads. Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section ofthe same through the line x x, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the sprng-dog'that sup! port-s the coupling-pin.

A represents the draw-head, constructed subst-initially in the same manner as is ordinarily the ease, with a daring mouth, so as to guide the coupling-pin toward the center when it strikes the draw-head. On top of the drawhead A is formed a guide, c, for the couplingpin B, and a suitable distance in front of said guide and pin are two ears, b b, between which is pivoted avcurved hook, G. The coupling-pin B is made dat, and has a notch, a?, formed in its front edge, as shown particularly in Fig. 3. This notch is at such a distance from the lower end of the pin that when the piu is raised and the hook C takes therein to support the pin its lower end is far enough elevated to admit of the entrance ofthe coupling-link. The lower rear portion of the curved hook C, which is within the draw-head, is slotted, as shown in Fig. 4, for the passage of the coupling-pin,

and the extreme end is, by a rod, c', connected with a spring, b', attached to the under side ofthe draw-head. The couplingpin B is raised either from the top or side of the car by any suitable mechanical means, and when thus raised the spring bthrows the upper end of the hook U into the notch on the coupling-pin, and thereby supporting the same in this elevated position. When the link D enters the draw-head it passes under the lower end of the pin B and raises the lower end of the hook C, which throws the upper end of said hook out of the notch w, allowing the pin to fall down of its own gravity and couple the cars. Thel elongated slot in the curved hook G admits of the free movement of both hook and piu entirely independent of each other.

ThisY coupling may be used in connection with the ordinary pin-and-link couplingthat is, one car may have the ordinary coupling and another car my coupling, and yet be coupled together.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

I. The combination, in a car-coupling, of the pin B, provided with the notch x, the slotted curved hook C, rod a', and spring b, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination ofthe draw-head A, provided With the guide a and ears 11,1), the pin B, provided with the notch x, and the slotted curved hook C, connected with the spring b', all substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 19th day of August, 1874.

HARTMAN LUTHER.

NVitnesses W. W. VENABLE, WILLIAM SPENsLEY. 

